Michael John "Mike" Myers (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer,[1] known for his run as a featured performer on Saturday Night Live from 1989 to 1995, and for playing the title roles in the Wayne's World, Austin Powers, and Shrek films.

Myers began performing in commercials at age two, then at age ten he made a commercial for British Columbia Hydro Electric, with Gilda Radner playing his mother.[3] A few months later, according to Myers, his brother was teasing him about his "girlfriend [Radner] being on some stupid show on Saturday". Myers swore that one day he also would be on that show, the then-fledgling Saturday Night Live. At age 12, he made a guest appearance as Ari on the TV series King of Kensington.[5] Several years later he named the "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" fictional heroine Vanessa Kensington in honor of the series.[6]

Myers graduated from high school in 1982 and was immediately accepted into the Second City Canadian Touring Company, after which he moved to the United Kingdom where in 1985 he was one of the founding members of The Comedy Store Players, an improvisational group based at The Comedy Store in London.

The next year, he starred in the British children's TV program Wide Awake Club, parodying the show's normal exuberance with his own "Sound Asleep Club", in partnership with Neil Mullarkey.

He returned to Toronto and Second City in 1986 as a cast member in the Second City's Toronto main stage show.

In 1988 he moved from Second City in Toronto to Chicago. In Chicago, he trained, performed, and taught at the Improv Olympic.

He made numerous appearances, including as Wayne Campbell, on Toronto's Citytv in the early 1980s, on the alternative video show City Limits hosted by Christopher Ward.

Myers also appeared as Wayne Campbell in the music video for Ward's Canadian hit "Boys and Girls". Later, Ward appeared as one of Austin Powers' band members in Ming Tea in Myers's popular movie series.

The Wayne Campbell character was featured extensively in the 1986 summer series It's Only Rock & Roll, produced by Toronto's Insight Production Company for CBC Television. Wayne appeared both in studio and in a series of location sketches directed and edited by Allan Novak. Myers wrote another sketch, Kurt and Dieter co-starring with Second City's Dana Andersen and also directed by Novak, which would later turn into the popular "Sprockets" sketch on Saturday Night Live.[7]

On July 3, 2011 Myers returned to The Comedy Store in London to reprise his role 'for one night only' with the improvisational troupe (The Comedy Store Players). The UK comedy website Chortle were full of glowing praise for Myers, claiming "Myers himself excelled [and was] strikingly adept and quick-witted, when his laughs came they were the biggest squeals of the night...this was no chore for Myers – being funny comes naturally to him – he could’ve spent the whole two hours farting the Canadian national anthem and the audience would’ve still lapped it up."[8]

In June 2000, Myers was sued by Universal Pictures for $3.8 million for backing out of a contract to play Dieter, the SNL character, in a feature film. Myers said he refused to honor the $20 million contract because he did not want to cheat moviegoers with an unacceptable script—one that he himself had written. Myers countersued, and a settlement was reached after several months where Myers agreed to make another film with Universal. That film would be The Cat in the Hat, released in November 2003 and starring Myers as the title character. In 2001, Myers provided the voice of Shrek in the DreamWorks animated film of the same name, after original planned voice actor Chris Farley died in 1997. He reprised this role in Shrek 4-D (a theme park ride) in 2003, Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third, and the Christmas special Shrek The Halls, both in 2007. In 2009 he did another non-comedic role, as British General Ed Fenech, in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. In 2010 Myers returned for what is apparently the last in the Shrek series, Shrek Forever After.[7]

In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted among the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. During a CBS interview in 2007, he noted that he normally takes three years between films. He spends one year "living his life" and then writes various screenplays, develops characters, practices them in front of live audiences, and then selects one of the screenplays to film. Myers noted this was the Marx Brothers' procedure for developing their film material.[citation needed]

Myers began dating actress and comedy writer Robin Ruzan in the late 1980s after meeting at a hockey game in Chicago, during which Myers caught a puck and used the incident as an icebreaker to strike up a conversation with Ruzan. The couple married in 1993, and Myers later referred to Ruzan as "his muse".[10] The couple filed for divorce in December 2005.[11]

In 2006, cafe owner Kelly Tisdale confirmed reports that she and Myers were dating, telling the National Enquirer, "we're actually surprised you didn't find out about us sooner." Myers and Tisdale wed in New York in the fall of 2010.[12] They have one son, Spike Alan, and one daughter, Sunday Molly.[13][14]

Myers has played for Hollywood United F.C., a celebrity soccer team.[17] He played in the 2010 Soccer Aid for UNICEF UK football match, England vs. R.O.W (Rest of the World) and scored his penalty during a sudden death shootout after the game ended 2–2 (June 6, 2010). The Rest of the World team beat England for the first time since the tournament started. Myers is a fan of Liverpool F.C..[18]

Simon – a little boy who does drawings in the bath and complains about having "prune hands" (the theme song for this segment was a slightly modified version of the theme song from Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings by Edward MacLachlan)

Middle-Aged Man – An older man who helps young people with their problems

Phillip – A child of the age of six (though in the sketch when arguing with another girl he claims he is six and a half, six and four-fifths, and six and infinity plus one.) who is hypoglycemic and hyperactive (quote: "I'm a hyper hypo"). Phillip appears in at least two sketches, one with Nicole Kidman and the other with Kim Basinger. The sketch centers on him at a playground while wearing a helmet and a harness tied to the monkey bars.

Kenneth Reese-Evans – host of "Theatre Stories"

In December 2014, Myers appeared in a cameo during the cold open as his character Dr. Evil, a super villain known for his appearances in the Austin Powers film series where he ranted about North Korea, in particular the logic of Kim Jong-un, and the 2014 Sony hack.[21][22]